Reflecting on 20 years of practice
September 2023 marked 20 years in my acupuncture practice, and 30 years in healthcare. I started working as a physical therapist in fall 1993. Ten years later, I opened my acupuncture practice, Peninsula Family Acupuncture, later renamed Reunion Acupuncture and Wellness.
I thought I would want some sort of big gesture to mark 20 years in practice. I thought I might have a party, write a book, make a video, something. A few ideas floated around in my head, but nothing I felt any sort of commitment to do. I asked my acupuncture colleagues what they thought I should do to mark the occasion. Some of them said I deserved a lengthy vacation after so many years. Others of them felt some kind of patient appreciation was in order.
I certainly do deserve a lengthy vacation. We all do. Americans are some of the least-vacationed people in the developed world. Europeans are keenly aware of the restorative and social importance of long vacations and regular time away from work. Being self-employed, I deeply appreciate the power I have to choose time off. But while I may deserve a long vacation, I don’t particularly feel in need of one. A big reason for that is I am blessed with an incredible work life. My patients really are the best people, and I am able to see them at a pace that really allows me to enjoy the work I do.
Likewise, my patients deserve my appreciation. I did some patient appreciation things for the fifteenth anniversary of the clinic, and that was fun for me and for patients. But honestly, I haven’t found patients need big gestures in the way of appreciation. Patients are cheered by simple origami cranes, or the beautiful citrus fruits I put in a basket for Lunar New Year. Patients feel appreciated when they can get an appointment on relatively short notice, at a time they are able to make, and are treated well while they are here.
One of my colleagues, a veteran of more years than myself, said my indifference to the question made sense to him. His reflection was, after all this time I no longer need to make a big deal out of it. My work is my daily spiritual practice. It does not need fanfare. He said perhaps my personal and professional growth in 20 years is enough reward for me, and my continuing to show up and do the work is enough reward for my patients. That perhaps it is enough that I and my patients keep going, keep meeting and exchanging, and keep growing together.
I am frankly astonished I’ve been at this a total of 30 years. It seems an impossibly long time to have passed so quickly. 1993 feels like another life, but also like yesterday. How grateful I am for this journey! How grateful I am for all the people over the years who have put themselves in my hands! Each and every patient is a teacher, encouraging me to act with a plan and precision; dig deeper when confronted with the unexpected; to have enough ego to embody authority, but not so much that I can’t see the limits of my power; own my successes and be compassionate with my failures.
Do I dare wish for 20 more years? We shall see. In the meantime, I’m here, carrying on, feet up on the filing cabinet, checking my schedule to see if you made an appointment. See you soon!